Thill-coupling.



No. 642,192. Patented Jan. 30, I900. T. G. ALDRICH.

/ THlLL COUPLING.

(Application filed May 16, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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FFICE.

PATENT TIMOTHY G. ALDRICH, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,192, dated January 30, 1900.

Application filed May 16, 1899. Serial No. 717,012. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TIMOTHY G. ALDRICH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thill-Couphugs; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in thill or shaft couplings, my object being to provide a device of this class which shall be simple in construction, economical in cost, reliable, durable, and efficient in use; and to these ends the invention consists of the features, arrangements, and combinations hereinafter described and claimed, all of which will be fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved coupling in use, the cross-bar of the vehicle being shown in cross-section and the shaft broken. Fig. 2 is a top view of the device. Fig. 3 is a front view of the same, the shaft-iron being shown in section. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the thill-iron and coupling-pin.

Similar reference characters indicating cor responding parts in the views, let the numeral 5 designate the U-shaped clip, adapted to straddle the crossbar 6 of the vehicle. This clip terminates in depending threaded bolts '7 and is secured to the crossbar by means of an apertured plate and nuts 9, screwed upon the bolts to engagement with the plate. This clip 5 is provided with two fonvardly-proj ectin g arms 10,havin g recesses or sockets 10, open at the top and adapted to receive a bolt or pin 13, passed through the eye let of the shaft-iron 15. As shown in the drawings, the head 13 of the bolt is shaped to fit the socket 10 in one of the arms 10. The opposite extremity of the bolt is provided with a nut 13", which when put on may be riveted in place, as there is never any necessityfor removing it. The portion of the pin between the eye 14 of the thill-iron and the nut 13 engages the socket or recess 10 of the other arm 10.

The iron 15 is locked in place by means of a lever 16, fulcrumed on the clip 5 by a pin 17, passed through registering apertures formed in the lever, and ears 18, formed integral with the clip. The forward extremity of this lever is provided with a recess 16, which engages the closed bent extremity 19 of a spring 19, formed from a single piece of wire and located between the eye of the shaftiron and the clip 5 in front and rear and between the arms 10 at the sides. The extremities 19 of the wire spring 0 remote from the bend 19 are bent at right angles to the body of the spring and engage the upper edges of the arms 10 close to the clip. The spring 19 is provided with two coils 19. The strength of the spring may be regulated by varying the convolutions of these coils. The forward extremity of the lever when in the normal position (shown in Fig. l) engages the eye 14 of the thill or shaft iron and locks the latter, together with the bolt 13, in position for use. The lever is held in this position by the spring 19. WVhen it is desired to remove the shaft from the vehicle, the arm 16 of the lever is drawn upwardly sufficiently to throw the lever and spring to the dotted-line position in Fig. 1. The shaft-iron then may be lifted out of the sockets in the arms 10. To replace the shaft-iron, it is only necessary to place it in the upper part of the recesses 10 and press downwardly thereon. This operation will actuate the lever and allow the bolt to slip into place, after which the spring will automatically return the lever to the locking position.

The rear extremity of the lever is for 0011-. venience provided with a foot plate or step 20. The iron 15 may be secured to the shaft 21 in any suitable manner, bolts 22 being shown in the drawings.

It is evident that the spring 19 performs the function of an antirattling device as well as the function of holding the locking-lever in place.

Having thus described inyinvention, what I claim is- 1. In a thill or shaft coupling, the combination with the thill-iron and clip, of arms projecting forwardly from the clip and having open recesses, the eye of the shaft or thill iron being placed between said arms, a bolt or pin passed through the eye of the shaft-iron and engaging the sockets in the clip-arms, a lever fulorumed on the clip above the bolt, one arm of said lever extending forwardly and downwardly and normally occupying a position above and in contact with the shaft-iron, the other arm of the lever extending rearwardly beyond the clip, and a spring located between the arms of the clip, said spring engaging the forward arm of the lever and normally holding the latter in position to lock the shaftiron in place.

2. The combination with the thill-iron, of recessed arms between which the eye of the thill-iron is located, a coupling-pin passing through the eye of the thill-iron and engaging the recesses in said arms, and a springactuated lever for locking the thill-iron in place, said lever being fulcrumed above the thill-iron and having an arm extending forwardly and downwardly to engagement with the said iron.

, 3. The combination with the thill-iron, of supporting-arms having recesses open at the top, the eye of the thill-iron being located between the arms, a bolt or pin engaging the thill-iron eye and engaging the recesses of said arm, a lever fulcrumed on a suitable support above the thill-iron, having one arm extending forwardly and downwardly to engagement therewith, the other arm of the lever extending rearwardly beyond the clip and terminating in a step, and a spring having one extremity engaging said lever, while the other extremity engages the thill-iron-supporting arms.

4. The combination with the thill-iron and fastening-clip,of recessed arms projecting forwardly from the clip, and between which the extremity of the thill-iron is located, a bolt or pin engaging the recesses of the said arms and supporting the thill-iron in place, one end of the bolt being fashioned to fit a recess in one arm, the parts being shaped to prevent the bolt from turning, the other arm of the clip engaging the. bolt between the nut and the shaft-iron, and a spring-held locking-lever adapted to engage the thill-iron.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

TIMOTHY G. ALDRICH.

' Witnesses:

A. J. OBRIEN, NELLIE G. DANIELS. 

